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When? Started: 1993 Who? Started with staff and friends from U H S, Chester. Organiser: Martyn Harris We walk every Wednesday and Saturdays, New Years day and May Day. How many walk? Walks take place as long as there are at least 2 wanting to walk on that day. More walk on a Wednesday than on a Saturday. Most ever: 29. Current group size walking: 2-7 in mid-week and 2-4 on Saturday. Where do we walk? Saturday: Anywhere in North and Mid-Wales, Peak District, Shropshire and the Long Mynd and as far North as the Trough of Bowland. Thursday: Anywhere within about 40 miles of Chester. Type of walk: Distance: 6 – 14 miles (but usually under 10 miles). Climb: up to 4000’ (but usually very much less!). People involved on walks in 2024:- Martyn Harris, Fran Murphy, Sue and Michel Pelissier, Mike Dodd, David Savage,, Ed Meads, Nigel and Elaine Taylor, Winston Feather.

Tuesday 9 March 2021

A Skylark Walk Before The Gales Arrive 9th March 2021

A Raven on one of its favoured perches.
A male Goosander on the River Dee.
A female Goosander goes fishing.
"I've got a fishbone stuck in my throat."
A Lapwing on the field, south east of the Sealand Drainage Gutter.
Blackthorn blossom has started to appear.
The Common kestre perched on the wire near the Queensferry Blue Swing Bridge.
The Common buzzard decided it wasn't waiting to have its photo taken.
The Beluga ST3 waiting to be given the OK to take off.
The Beluga ST3 approaches the runway.
The Beluga ST3 takes off.
A Redwing in a tree near Cop House Cottages.
Distance: 9.8 miles. Climb: 203'.
Time: 4 hours 27 minutes. On the move walking average: 3.0 m.p.h. Overall walk average: 2.2 m.p.h.
Wind speed: 0 - 8.2 m.p.h. Temperature: 9.0 - 13.0 Celsius.
Group: Martyn.
Gale force winds and lots of rain on on the forecast for Wednesday and Thursday, so I decided I needed to take advantage of the relatively good forecast for today.
The highlight today was seeing high in the sky, two Skylarks as they sang above the fields. I did hear a third Skylark singing, but wasn't able to spot it.
Another delight today was seeing a Lapwing briefly displaying ove one of Beeches' Farm fields.
Birds seen or heard today included: Moorhen, Mallard, Herring gull, Collared dove, Goosander, Raven, Redwing, Long tailed tit, Winter wren, Great cormorant, Dunnock, European robin, Common blackbird, Black headed gull, Lesser black back gull, House sparrow, Woodpigeon, Common redshank, Jackdaw, Great tit, Blue tit Common chaffinch, Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Common kestrel, Common starling, Black billed magpie.Fieldfare and Common buzzard.
A slower than usual overall walk average, largely due to waiting for the Beluga ST3 to take off, although I did spend a little time chatting to Archie Welsh and a "birder" I last saw at Burton Mere Wetlands RSPB more than 12 months ago, and of course there is always the odd dog walker or two that wants to engage in conversation with a willing ear!
This is the first time for quite a while that I have walked to Queensferry on the Wales Coast Path and returned on the Riverside Path on the opposite side of the river.
Overall an enjoyable walk with the added bonus of not needing to clean my boots.
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